General Info

The Library of Congress serves as the research arm of the U.S. Congress. The Library occupies three buildings on Capitol Hill. The Thomas Jefferson Building is the original separate Library of Congress building. The other buildings include the John Adams Building and the James Madison Memorial. An agency of the legislative branch of the U.S. government, the Library includes several internal divisions including the Office of the Librarian, Congressional Research Service, U.S. Copyright Office, Law Library of Congress, Library Services and the Office of Strategic Initiatives. The library has more than 130 million items and more than 500 miles of bookshelves. The collections include more than 29 million books and other printed materials, 2.7 million recordings and millions of photographs, maps and manuscripts. The Library was founded in 1800, making it the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States.